One of the main stories to come from Old Trafford in the second half of 2021/22, as United were en route to their lowest ever points total in the Premier League, was Cristiano Ronaldo not wanting Harry Maguire to be captain.
And now, The Athletic have provided further details on what exactly happened between Ronaldo and Maguire.
They report that when Manchester United’s form dipped in February, a number of senior players approached then interim boss Ralf Rangnick at United’s Carrington training base.
Cristiano Ronaldo was among the group. So too were Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane.
However, Harry Maguire, the club’s captain and centre-back, was not present.
During the meeting, Ronaldo’s outlined what he wanted. The Portuguese felt he needed to play as part of a two-man frontline, with Edinson Cavani as his preferred strike partner.
The meeting was ended when, eventually, Rangnick told the players he felt the conversation was inappropriate without Maguire present as the captain.
In response, Ronaldo stated that he believed Maguire was part of the problem.
As for the other players present, some of them felt uncomfortable and apologised to Rangnick subsequently.
Ronaldo has since gotten his wish as Maguire was on the bench for United’s last two games, but so too was CR7.
